home roasting into commercial roasting

[beanflying]

As the happy owner of a circa $4k roaster

No it won't roast for a commercial return. Minimum roast size that starts to work is 3kg and 5kg is where the return start to make sense. If you want to learn how to roast then yes 1-2kg can work but some of the '2kg' electric roasters will struggle to have sufficient control and reserve power over the roast at full charge to make them a useful learning tool or to get the best results possible.

I have done some fairly comprehensive spreadsheet work prior to the 1kg purchase which was a calculated punt/$$ as a play/learning thing and am more than happy with it so far.

If you were Running your own Cafe and Roasting your own to use then possibly it would be ok for looks shop feature etc but when you hit much more than 15-20kg of Brown a week it would be a huge PITA to keep up.

Should also add are you going to be able to roast BETTER and more CONSISTENTLY and for less $$ than what you may be able to buy contract roasted and then rebag and resell ??

[Koffee_Kosmo]

Hi BOOsting
If Canberra is not to far ? you should contact Sponsor Cosmorex Coffee
they advertised a Possition on this thread - http://coffeesnobs.com.au/sponsors/2...tml#post480507

I should also note that if you purchase a roaster the supplier may have a training program with purchase or as an extra

KK

[Vinitasse]

As the happy owner of a circa $4k roaster

No it won't roast for a commercial return. Minimum roast size that starts to work is 3kg and 5kg is where the return start to make sense. If you want to learn how to roast then yes 1-2kg can work but some of the '2kg' electric roasters will struggle to have sufficient control and reserve power over the roast at full charge to make them a useful learning tool or to get the best results possible.

I have done some fairly comprehensive spreadsheet work prior to the 1kg purchase which was a calculated punt/$$ as a play/learning thing and am more than happy with it so far.

If you were Running your own Cafe and Roasting your own to use then possibly it would be ok for looks shop feature etc but when you hit much more than 15-20kg of Brown a week it would be a huge PITA to keep up.

Should also add are you going to be able to roast BETTER and more CONSISTENTLY and for less $$ than what you may be able to buy contract roasted and then rebag and resell ??

Can't say that I agree with much of the above. I have been roasting commercially for the past 2 years on an electric 1kg roaster that I modified to roast 2kg batches on. The roaster has no problems at all in keeping up with a full charge and responds brilliantly to airflow and power adjustmets with most roasts hitting 2nd crack consistently in the 16 to 17 min range. I roast 60~100kgs per week and seeing as how I still manage to work far fewer hours than I did in previous employment I am happy to say that the PITA factor has been pretty much non-existent. Oh... and seeing as how my overhead is low, roasting on my own property, I can report that it is possible to earn a decent full-time income in a sub 40 hour week. Having said all that, if I had to do it again I would have started with a gas powered 5kg machine and now dream about that 15kg roaster that will be Phase 2 of my business plan. But... can it be done? Sure... just do your homework and make sure you have an understanding wife/partner

[beanflying]

Out of interest what was the final cost of the converted 1kg roaster? Are you still in front of or behind $10k?

The 'some' 2kg roasters bit is important too as some are over 20 minutes to SC. Also how hard do 'some' of them need to be pushed to FC to try and keep the times sensible. IE. Level of control and can the ramp be varied or raised if needed at full charge.

Depends on how and what you value your time at and if you are being serious about the commercial realities of the situation. So often this sort of thread pps up with what about if I used 2 XYZ home roasters to roast for a local ABC and so often the same answers come up.

The overall business plan has to includes sales and marketing time and or selling time in most cases. At that point small roasters start to fall over unless you are maximising the time/$ in by using the results yourself.

To not do this is not a business plan but a lifestyle choice which I have been doing for the last 12 years in a different field

[Vinitasse]

To answer your question Tim, I was lucky enough to have been the very first Australian importer of the roaster I am using and was cut a really good break on the price. All up, with all importation fees, installation, certification and mods included the price still came in far below $10K. As regards to business plans and taking into consideration time for sales and marketing etc... I can say that a typical day for me could be broken down as follows:

Preparing and printing labels (personalized for each customer): 15~30 mins

Roaster pre-heat and prepping roast batches: 30 mins

Roasting of 12~20kg of coffee @ 3 batches per hour: 4~6.5 hrs (includes labelling, bagging and sealing tc..)

Roaster cool-down, cleaning and maintenance: 45 mins

Paperwork, communications and marketing: 1 hr

TYPICAL DAY: 7.0~9.25hrs with the average being closer to 7.5hrs/day, 5 days per week.

Deliveries and mail runs happen a couple of time per week and add another hour or two to the total. All up: 38.5~39.5hrs per week on avg

And, net income at the end of the day yields more than my previous position at $80K + benefits ever did... and... I work for myself and my commute is measured in steps, not kms.